Praedicator

Verba

Friday, December 1, 2017 - Friday in the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

[Dan 7:2-14 and Luke 21:29-33]

"Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." [Luke]

The Gospel According to Luke was composed not long after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple as a result of the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule 66-70 AD. For many in the community for whom Luke wrote, that disaster was a sign that the end of the world was coming. It would be as if Rome and St. Peter's were destroyed and leveled! Indeed history is full of disasters that inspired belief that the end of time (as we know it) had arrived. The Gospel According to Luke makes two points in this regard. First, the end of time and the victorious return of Jesus will take place. Second, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple are not the end of time, and Jesus' return cannot be predicted precisely, which means the community must be alert and faithful to his teachings.

For some, that victorious return was thought to be soon and that Jesus would come, chase out the Romans and re-establish the righteous kingdom of David. Some of this was a mix of earlier Jewish messianic hopes that were transferred to Jesus. Gradually, as the Christian faith spread, it became clear that no human prediction could attach to Jesus' return. Rather, the coming of the Holy Spirit was to be the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to with the church always until the end of time. This time of the Holy Spirit was seen as a "new era." In the meantime, on the ground as it were, persecution would tempt many to lose faith or else put faith in false messianic claims. It is Jesus' words that will not pass away, and it is in those words that we must put our faith. AMEN